Take Me Home

Chapter Fifteen

!SH & EMET WARNING!

Liam noticed the second he returned to work that something was not right with Harry. And two days later, he decided to speak to him about it.

The boy had barely moved from his bed for the past couple of days, and he'd run upstairs after school before anyone could speak to him. He hadn't been eating a lot either, just a few mouthfuls before he'd excuse himself.

Liam had initially thought the boy was ill, but now he wasn't so sure. Surely the kid would go to him if he was sick? He usually did. Plus, even Niall and Louis had noticed something off.

Louis was doing better at school and Niall had been helping out a lot at the house during his two day suspension, and both boys had constantly been asking him what was wrong with the teenager, and if he was going to be okay. He'd had to reassure them but he couldn't be sure that he was telling the truth.

So he waited until Louis had dragged Niall into the garden to play football and asked Calum to keep an eye on the twins on Saturday afternoon, and he went upstairs to the room that Harry hadn't even left since last night.

He knocked the door gently. When there was no reply, he gently rested his hand on the door handle and walked in.

"Haz?" he questioned gently, assuming the boy was still asleep since the lights were off and the curtains were pulled closed.

Surprisingly, Harry rolled over in the top bunk and stared at him with tired green eyes. The man smiled at him as he turned on the lights, murmuring an apology when the boy winced.

"Hey, sweetie. What's going on?" he asked, his voice soft as he padded across the room quietly and took his place by the bed. He struggled to hide his concern when he saw the bags beneath the boys eyes. "You look exhausted, haven't you been sleeping?"

Harry stared at him for a moment longer before looking away and giving a slight shrug. "Guess not," he mumbled.

Liam wondered if maybe he was right about the kid being sick. "Are you feeling okay? I've barely seen you these past few days," he said, smiling gently at him and reaching up a hand to run through his chestnut curls.

Harry sighed softly and leaned into the touch the way he always had, then pulled back with a small frown that made Liam wonder what was going through his mind. "Think I'm getting sick," he said, chewing his lip.

The social worker sighed at that. Whenever one kid in the group home got sick, the rest always seemed to follow. It was the worst kind of domino effect.

He speculated the boy, noting that he did look rather pale. He moved his hand to rest gently against his forehead to feel that it was quite cool. "Hm. I can't feel a fever, buddy. What kind of sick are you feeling?"

Harry hesitated. "Jus' my head hurts. Probably a migraine," he told the man, and he bought it because the teen was prone to headaches and migraines.

Liam nodded, watching the kid close his eyes and keeping his hand against his head for a few more moments. He really did hate to see any of the kids sick, it made him wish he had some sort of power to take their pain away.

"You sure there's nothing else going on? You've been quiet these past few days. Even the little ones have noticed."

Harry opened his eyes again, but before he could reply, Louis burst through the door. He looked sweaty from running around in the sun and he ran over to Liam and grabbed his arm.

"Christ, Lou, whatever's the matter?" Liam asked, as the boy began to tug him in the direction of the door.

"Niall's been sick everywhere. He told me he didn't want to play footie anymore 'cos his tummy was hurting, so I told him to go and lay on the couch till he feeled better. But when I went to go and see him, he was throwing up. It's real gross, Liam, it won't stop comin' up," Louis rambled, continuing to drag the man away.